‘Allow me resign’, female police officer ‘held against her will’ raises alarm

Fauzziyah Isiak, a female police officer, has cried out on social media, accusing the force of detaining her after she tendered her resignation.

Isiak, a corporal with the Lagos Police Command, narrated her ordeal in a series of tweets on Thursday.

She said when she submitted her resignation letter after working for six years, it had not been accepted.

The officer said when she was called for an interview, she thought the police had finally agreed to let her go, only for her to be detained.

She wrote: “I thought they were finally going to approve my resignation but the only words I heard were that I should be detained to be tried and dismissed. Due to the shock, I couldn’t say anything as the officer led me away.

“Later, I heard that I should have begged and cried but my lack of reaction worsened the matter.”

The aggrieved officer narrated the condition in which she was, saying her mother was traumatised.

But in response, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin, explained that working with the police was not like working in the private sector where resignation is quickly processed.

He accused the officer of absconding from duty, saying she has questions to answer over such.

He said, “It is one thing to turn in your resignation. It is another thing for the application to be processed, upon which you receive your discharge certificate.”

“Till you get the discharge certificate, you remain a serving member of the force, bound by all extant rules and regulations of service.”

“@PoliceNG, absence from duty for twenty-one days without leave or permission automatically results in your being declared a deserter. Every serving member knows this.”